Thursday, August 18, 2005

A Progressive’s Wishes

May the party that convinced Americans that George W. Bush is an outsider remain sensitive to the needs of America’s outsiders: the poor, the elderly, the children, and the homeless.

May the party of Wall Street throw the crooks out of the casino and raise the Dow Jones average to restore the solvency of millions average people’s stock-based retirement accounts.

May the party of CEOs ensure that no corporation will ever again lie to its shareholders and defraud its retirees.

May the party of military armament contractors ensure that the government gets weapons that work at a fair price.

May the party of bosses permit the employees a fair share in the financial successes of their companies.

May the party of religious conservatism honor the right of women to control their own bodies.

May the party of the chemical and oil interests maintain the planet’s soil, air, and water.

May the party of law enforcement observe all of the Constitution, most especially the Bill of Rights.

May the party of war hawks who dodged the draft during Viet Nam remember that when General Patton said: “Now I want you to remember that no bastard ever won a war by dying for his country. He won it by making the other poor dumb bastard die for his country,” The “other poor dumb bastard” meant an enemy soldier and not a poor American boy without social connections.

May the party that has declared “war” on a concept (terrorism) remember that it is unpatriotic to profiteer from homeland security. May that same party also desist from calling homeland security employees unpatriotic when they ask for legal union representation, fair pay, and working conditions.

May the party of agribusiness remember and care for the small farmer.

Finally, may the party of Lincoln remember its roots in the abolition movement and work towards healing the wound of racism in America.

May those who read my simple wishes look to their hearts and add wishes of their own to this list.